Bill Chappell

Bill Chappell is a blogger and producer who currently works on The Two Way, NPR's flagship blog. In the past, he has coordinated digital features for Morning Edition and Fresh Air, and edited the rundown of All Things Considered. He frequently contributes to other NPR blogs, such as All Tech Considered and The Salt.

Chappell's work at NPR has ranged from being the site's first full-time homepage editor to being the lead writer and editor on the London 2012 Olympics blog, The Torch. His assignments have included being the lead web producer for NPR's trip to Asia's Grand Trunk Road, as well as establishing the Peabody Award-winning StoryCorps on NPR.org.

In 2009, Chappell was a key editorial member of the small team that redesigned NPR's web site. One year later, the site won its first Peabody Award, along with the National Press Foundation's Excellence in Online Journalism award.

At NPR, Chappell has trained both digital and radio staff to use digital tools to tell compelling stories, in addition to "evangelizing" β promoting more collaboration between legacy and digital departments.

Prior to joining NPR in late 2003, Chappell worked on the Assignment Desk at CNN International, handling coverage in areas from the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America, and coordinating CNN's pool coverage out of Qatar during the Iraq war.

Chappell's work for CNN also included producing Web stories and editing digital video for SI.com, and editing and producing stories for CNN.com's features division.

Before joining CNN, Chappell wrote about movies, restaurants and music for alternative weeklies, in addition to his first job: editing the police blotter.

A holder of bachelor's degrees in English and History from the University of Georgia, he attended graduate school for English Literature at the University of South Carolina.

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The Two-Way

5:21 am

Thu March 12, 2015

Shiite militiamen pose with their banner (right) next to a captured β and upside-down β ISIS flag (left) in Tikrit, Iraq. Militias are bolstering Iraqi forces in a major operation to retake the city from the self-proclaimed Islamic State.

Pro-government forces in Iraq are making progress in the push to take back the city of Tikrit from the self-proclaimed Islamic State, or ISIS. Iraqi officials say the focus is now on the city's center, and that advances were still being slowed by bombs and booby traps.

The Two-Way

11:04 am

Wed March 11, 2015

Coins from the Thomas Lockwood Collection were recently found to be rare and priceless. From a description by the University at Buffalo, from top to bottom: A gold aureus of the Roman emperor Otho; a tetradrachm of Athens; a tetradrachm of Alexander the Great; a silver tetradrachm of Syracuse (Sicily); a gold aureus of the emperor Nero; and a gold octodrachm of Arsinoe II."

Iraqi troops and militia fighters are reportedly inside the city of Tikrit, the city that has been held by the self-proclaimed Islamic State, or ISIS, since last June. Officials and witnesses say the Iraqis now control part of northern Tikrit.

French police say two armored trucks carrying jewels and other items worth some $9.5 million were seized by more than a dozen armed attackers Wednesday, in a midnight heist that took place on the A6 highway that runs between Paris and Lyon.

Authorities were hunting for the thieves Wednesday, focusing on an area around the crime that took place about 140 miles southeast of Paris.

The heist was timed to coincide with the trucks' stop at a toll booth, where gunmen overcame the shipment's drivers, who were reportedly unarmed. The drivers were left uninjured.

The Two-Way

6:55 am

Wed March 11, 2015

University of Oklahoma students march to the now-closed Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house during a rally against racism Tuesday. Two former members of the fraternity have apologized for their roles in a video that showed them singing a racist chant.

Two men who were in a video of Sigma Alpha Epsilon members singing a racist chant have apologized for their actions, with one of the now-former fraternity brothers saying he had learned "a devastating lesson."

5:01 am

Wed March 11, 2015

The search continues for an Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter that crashed late Tuesday night off the Florida coast. Seven Marines and four members of the Louisiana National Guard were on a routine nighttime training mission at Eglin Air Force Base.

11:23 am

Tue March 10, 2015

One of the students seen in a video in which fraternity members at the University of Oklahoma chant a racist song has apologized for his actions, as have the parents of another student seen in the video.

Parker Rice, one of the students, apologized in a statement published by the Dallas Morning News. He called his actions "wrong and reckless."

The story of how Istanbul residents learned sign language to create a special day for a neighbor has turned a Samsung ad into an international viral hit. The ad was filmed by hidden cameras on the route traveled by Muharrem Yazgan, who is hearing-impaired, and his sister, Γzlem, who was in on the project.

The Two-Way

10:26 am

Tue March 10, 2015

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks to reporters Tuesday at United Nations headquarters, where she said she chose to use a personal email account for government business out of convenience.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who has been under fire for her use of a personal email address while in office, said Tuesday she "chose not to keep personal emails" from her tenure at the State Department, but that she turned over 55,000 printed pages of her official correspondence to the department.

At a news conference at the U.N., Clinton said the personal correspondence included emails about planning her daughter Chelsea's wedding, preparations for her mother's funeral and her yoga schedule.

The Two-Way

7:59 am

Tue March 10, 2015

A letter from U.S. senators suggests the lawmakers "not only do not understand international law, but are not fully cognizant of the nuances of their own Constitution," says Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Republican senators' letter to Iran about ongoing nuclear talks has prompted a lengthy response from Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who delivered an overview of international law as he critiqued the letter.